PLACE
Collaboration with local authorities, community groups and partners, such as the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), to share information and integrate policies and strategies helps support sustainable tourism management.Together, we are promoting a variety of activities to our passengers and delivering greater social and economic outcomes for communities.
Read our sustainability reports:
Economic Impact
In 2021 we have continued to invest millions of Euros in new sustainable terminal facilities, and work has progressed on several of these:
- The Durban Cruise Terminal in South Africa became operational in December 2021
- Construction of the new MSC Cruises Terminal in Miami began in the summer of 2021
- A new MSC Cruises Terminal in Barcelona is due to be operational in 2023.
All our new cruise terminals will meet the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver rating.
Economic Impact
Sustainable Excursions
Our shore excursions team has worked with tour operators to identify excursions founded on strong sustainability principles. Known as ‘Protectours’, these excursions are specifically designed to educate our guests. Around 70% of these tours include low impact transportation, including walking, cycling or kayaking, and many make a direct contribution to the environment through supporting species or habitat protection.
We partnered with Travelife to deliver training and capacity building for all the tour operators we work with. Travelife is an initiative for tourism companies committed to achieving sustainability: its specialised indicators, based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Industry Standard criteria, focus on supply chain impact and the responsibilities of tour operators.
The development of accessible tours also remains a priority, with the aim of ensuring that we offer guests with limited mobility a range of options at each destination. All our ‘Easy & Accessible’ tours aim to eliminate obstacles and ensure smooth access to all the highlights visited.
We aim for all tour operators used by MSC Cruises at our frequent destinations to be certified to a GSTC certification programme, or to be engaged in the process.
Sustainable Excursions
Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve
The waters around Ocean Cay are designated as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) which means commercial fishing is restricted and other measures are in place to protect and enhance biodiversity. Our efforts to remove significant quantities of scrap metal waste from the waters around the island has resulted in dramatic improvements in the local ecology and marine life has become more diverse. Now sea turtle sightings are common.
We monitor the coral of the island and have seen increased productivity with numerous species recorded including grunts, jacks, hogfish, angel fish lobsters, crabs, shrimps and moray eels – a positive indication of a healthy reef. Visit the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve website.
For more information, visit the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve website.
Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve
CHARTING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
For us Sustainability means protecting the environment, supporting the people who work with us and choose to travel with us,as well as the communities and places that we visit and do business with.
Discover our sustainability program organized around four key pillars: Planet, People, Place and Procurement.